The Broken Team
by obeytherandomness
Summary: After the simulation where all of the Young Justice team dies, Robin becomes very upset and the rest of the team loses all of their trust in him. Can this be fixed? I can't think of a better name so, if you have a better suggestion, please let me know. this is going to be Robin/Kid Flash
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

"Batman." It was a simple word spoken by Black Canary, but the tone that it was spoken in told Batman that whatever words were going to follow that one would be serious. "We have a problem."

"What is it?" Batman asked in his normal gruff voice. Normally he would have just sat and listened for her to continue, but something about the way she voiced her thoughts made him understand that she was concerned for some reason.

"It's the Young Justice Team," she said cautiously. She knew how much any form of danger coming towards Batman's little protégé made him tense and ready to throw a batarang at whomever was stupid enough to say the wrong thing to him.

"What about them?" he growled. It was barely different from his normal voice, but Black Canary and the rest of the team had learned to know when Batman was angry. They all needed to know when to stay away from him because he was the only one who knew the secret to defeating each and every one of them. It was why he was their unspoken leader.

"They aren't recovering like we had hoped," she said shamefully. Her and the rest of the Justice League had been keeping a close eye on their younger counterparts ever since their horrible failure of attempting a fail simulation. The young ones had been so shaken by their fake battle that they had worried even the emotionless Batman.

Batman walked over to meet Black Canary in front of the large screen that she had been staring at when he walked into the room. It showed the view that one of the many hidden cameras was taking in Mount Justice at that very moment. The young team was sitting silently in the living room. M'gann was crying into Superboy's black shirt as she had been doing for several days after her powers had so quickly turned the harmless simulation into one that was so damaging. Superboy was holding her as close to him as he could without hurting her while looking to all the world like if anyone came to close to him and his girlfriend they would be on the bitter end of his superhuman strength. Wolf sat at his feet ready to attack if Superboy should come to any danger. Artemis stood at one of the nearest windows with an arrow held firmly in her hand as she stroked the feathered tip. It looked almost like she had strung the arrow in her bow, which was lying quietly right next to her, and was only waiting for a target to shoot at. Kaldur stood in a corner of the room tensely with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes surveying to make sure that his team was still uninjured. Kid Flash sat unnaturally still on the couch across from M'gann and Superboy and his back facing Artemis. He stared at the two loves with his fists clenched painfully tightly and a barely audible growl springing from his throat every now and again when a certain memory of the event flooded his head.

"Where is Robin?" Batman asked as he noticed that the only one missing was his own.

"You should see this," Black Canary answered as she tapped a few buttons on the keyboard before her and everything started to rewind until a couple of hours after the failed simulation. Everyone sat in the exact same place except for Robin who sat on the longest couch, which faced the TV. He looked somewhat downcast as he waited in silence for whatever the team had to say.

"I want to know what happened," Kaldur said. "After I died. I want to know what happened."

M'gann bit her lip, but she started explaining everything to the best of her recollection, which was actually very detailed, to their team leader. Everyone else remained silent until finally M'gann got to the part where Robin had to sacrifice Superboy in order to complete their mission. Both Kaldur and Artemis gasped in shock when M'gann got that piece of information out through teary words and Wally growled angrily.

"How could you?" Kaldur asked disappointedly. He had been trying so hard to teach Robin how to lead the team and he had gone and sacrificed them right after he became the leader. He couldn't believe that Robin would betray them so easily.

Artemis strode forward and grabbed Robin by the collar of his shirt so that she could hold him up so that he was eye level with her. "Why the hell did you sacrifice your team?" Robin did nothing to even attempt to get out of her grip let alone to attempt to answer either of their questions. He just stared at them through the glasses that always hid his eyes from view.

"Because he's a bastard who doesn't care who he kills so that he can win in his mission," Wally growled as he stood up ready to sock Robin in the stomach. That's when Robin moved. He kicked his body up until he was flipping onto the back of the couch so that Artemis would have to release him or get a broken wrist and then he turned and walked towards the hallways that lead to all of their rooms.

"He hasn't come out of his room for anything but the necessities since that moment," Black Canary said after she paused the recording that they had been watching, "and when he does he is attacked by all of his teammates who think that he betrayed them."

"They blame him," Batman concluded.

"Yes," Black Canary agreed. "They blame him, but it is not only that that I am concerned about. The simulation affected them all much more than we had originally expected. I think they might need therapy."

Batman nodded as he looked at the different expressions of depression and rage that adorned the faces of all of the young team members. "I will take Robin," he said.

"I don't think that's a good idea Batman," Black Canary responded. "I think that you are too close to him to be an affective therapist. Allow me to help them."

"You can help the rest of them," Batman said, "but I will take care of Robin."

"Batman," Black Canary sighed. "I know he's your son and you want to take care of him, but he needs someone who he trusts but isn't close to to get this off his chest." It was common knowledge to all of the Justice League that Robin was Batman's son, but what they did not know was that Robin was actually adopted. Batman never bothered to correct them because if he did than they would be more likely to guess his, and consequently Robin's, actual identity. He wasn't willing to put Robin in that kind of danger no matter what the circumstances.

"You are right," Batman agreed. "He is my son, which is why I know that he will not respond to therapy as well as you hope he will. I know Robin. I will take care of him."

Black Canary sighed. There was no arguing with Batman no matter what the situation. The only thing to do was to agree and hope that the situation would go the way Batman thought it would. It usually did, but that didn't keep the rest of the team from worrying whenever Batman decided to do something and couldn't be persuaded against said decision. "If that is what you think will be best for him," she said.

Batman only nodded before heading to the zeta tubes where he and Black Canary would be transported from their base in space to the base that belonged to their young charges.

* * *

When Batman and Black Canary arrived at Mount Justice they were met with the same sight that they had left on the monitors back in the space base. The only difference was that everyone seemed to become a little tenser at the new intruders and they were all looking at them. Batman said nothing. He only turned and headed towards the hallway to go find his adopted son while Black Canary stepped forward slightly to gather all of the attention to herself.

"It has come to our attention," she said with a business voice, "that the team was affected much more than we originally thought. If we allow this to continue it will become dangerous on any future missions that the team encounters so we have decided that we will put you all through therapy."

"I'm not going to see some shrink," Wally growled.

"You won't just be seeing anyone," Black Canary said. "The information that you have is much to valuable to give to a complete stranger. You will be having therapy sessions with me."

"What about Robin?" Wally asked.

"He is going to be working with Batman," she answered.

"Why does he always get special treatment?" Wally pointed to Robin as he walked into the large room with Batman. His only response was to look up at Wally before quickly looking back at the ground.

"I will meet you in the bat cave," Batman said with his gruff voice.

Robin only nodded before turning to the zeta tubes and quickly disappearing through them.

"Good riddance," Wally said as he let his hand dropped.

"I want this entire mountain cleaned by the time that the therapist meetings start or you will all be severely punished," Batman growled at the young team.

"I was planning on starting in five minutes," Black Canary frowned.

"Than they had better hurry," was Batman's only response before he too disappeared through the zeta tubes.

"That's not fair," Wally said with his mouth open in shock. "That means that I have to clean the entire place by myself."

"That was the point," Black Canary sighed. "I will take you last so that you have more time to clean the mountain, but that is all the time I can give you. Kaldur, will you come with me please."

"That's not fair!" Wally growled again when Black Canary had disappeared to wherever she was taking Kaldur to.

"Please Wally," M'gann said. "We'll pay you back somehow."

"Fine," Wally sighed. "I bet that Robin would never do anything like this for us."

* * *

Thank you for reading this story. If you have any questions, comments, or requests, please feel free to message me and I will make sure to read them all. Flames are welcome here.

I've decided to post all of the neglected stories that i've written. i hope you guys enjoy this one.

I do have the next chapter for this story, but i didn't want to post so many different things at one time so I will post the next chapter in a week unless I get 5 comments before then. Thanks again for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

One of the guest reviewers, yuu101cutie, asked me if Wally knows Robin's true identity in this story. No he doesn't. In this story the only one who know's Batman and Robin's secret identities is Batman and Robin themselves

Also, before we go into the next chapter, I want to mention that I have taken a grand total of one general psychology class and have never actually been to see a psychologists. That means that I have no clue what is acceptable for someone in that role to say or not to say. I'm sorry about this, but I will try my best to get it right.

* * *

When Batman arrived at the batcave he immediately took off his famous cowl and searched the room for his adopted son. He didn't have to search long. Robin was standing a little bit away from the zeta tubes. He was wearing his normal red hoodie with a black jacket and black jeans. His dark sunglasses were still on, but Bruce knew his son well enough to know that he had been crying for quite some time.

Without even waiting for Robin to say anything, Bruce walked over to him, pulled off his sunglasses, and wrapped Dick Grayson into a tight comforting hug. Dick immediately allowed himself to sob. He was wrapped in the arms of his father so he felt safe enough to allow his emotions to spill from where he had been holding them back ever since the Artemis died in their simulation.

"I killed them," he sobbed.

"No," Bruce muttered. "They're alive."

"But I killed them during that simulation," Dick said.

"You only did what you had to," Bruce tried to convince Dick.

"I don't ever want to have to do that again," Dick whispered.

"We won't make you guys go through that again," Bruce insured.

"But what if it happens in real life?" Dick asked.

"Then I will be proud to know that you were able to save the world at all costs," Bruce answered. He really was proud of his adopted son. The youngest of the young justice team was the only one who was able to do what was necessary to save the world. Even though it had wound up that another ship had come from space in the simulation, in the real world Dick's actions probably would have saved Earth from the aliens that were invading.

Dick remained against Bruce's chest for a moment of silence until Bruce realized that the exhaustion of the past couple of days had finally caught up to him and he had fallen asleep in Bruce's arms. Bruce smiled and pulled Dick closer to him so that he could take him to his room.

Alfred, who had been waiting just outside of the elevator in the mansion, quickly followed Bruce to Dick's room so that he could open any doors. "How is he?" Alfred asked.

"Traumatized," Bruce muttered as he placed Dick into his bed and gently tucked him in.

Alfred nodded. "Should I get anything for him?"

"No," Bruce shook his head. "For now, I think that he just needs some rest."

Alfred nodded and waited at the door for Bruce to join him. Bruce quickly made sure that Dick was comfortable and muttered a promise to make everything right. Then he walked over to Alfred and the two of them left.

"What will you do?" Alfred asked when the door was shut behind them.

"I don't know," Bruce shook his head, "but I will make this right."

Alfred only nodded. He trusted that Bruce would make it right somehow, but he wasn't sure how long it would take and how long Dick would be able to take it.

* * *

"How do you feel?" Black Canary asked Kaldur. He sat patiently in front of her and allowed her to speak.

"I don't know," Kaldur shook his head. He didn't know how he should feel. He was upset, sad, angry, relieved, and happy. There were so many emotions that he couldn't pick one that he should tell Black Canary about.

"It's okay to be confused," Black Canary smiled reassuringly. "I'm here to help you get through those emotions." Kaldur nodded. He knew this needed to happen for all of the team in order for them to be able to work again so he would cooperate.

"I just don't know what I should feel," he admitted.

"No one can tell you that," Black Canary said, "but I can help you work through those emotions. Just pick one and we can start."

"I am relieved," Kaldur stated.

"Okay," Black Canary nodded. "Why are you relieved?"

"Because we're all alive," said Kaldur.

"That makes sense," Black Canary smiled. "After going through what you guys had to go through I would expect that emotion. Do you feel anything else?"

"I feel like I let the team down," Kaldur sighed.

"Why?" Black Canary asked.

"I died," Kaldur admitted, "and left the team without a leader."

"Robin took over as leader," Black Canary said.

"And the team died," Kaldur sighed.

"Do you blame Robin?" Black Canary asked.

"I shouldn't have left the team in his hands," Kaldur admitted. "He was too young. He was forced to take on a task that was much too old for him to handle. There was no way that he could have defeated them. I should have remained alive. I should have tried harder to get to the zeta tubes. I should have had Robin hack into the system to let more people through the zeta tubes. That way more people could have survived and Robin wouldn't have had to deal with such a burden."

"What would you have done?" Black Canary asked. "If you had survived?"

Kaldur stopped. "I don't know," he shook his head, "but at least the burden of leading a team wouldn't have fallen on Robin and the team might not have died."

Black Canary sighed. She knew she was starting to become bias towards Robin and this was just her first session with a man who didn't even really blame Robin for anything that happened. She would have to be more objective with the rest of the team.

* * *

"How do you feel?" This time Black Canary was talking to Artemis. She hadn't expected Artemis to be as deeply affected by the tragedy as the rest of them because she had been the first to die, but as Black Canary watched her she began to realize that the girl was just as upset as the others.

"I'm mad," Artemis answered. She didn't need any more prompting before she continued. "I can't believe I was caught so easily. I should have paid more attention. Then I wouldn't have died."

"Why do you think that you're so affected by your 'death'?" Black Canary asked.

"You know," Artemis sighed, "even after I died, I was still connected to everyone else. I could feel their emotions as I died. I felt overwhelming despair after I died. I thought it was the end of me until _Robin_ convinced us all that we were still alive." Her fists clenched and her voice took on an angered tone when she said Robin's name. "I was so excited about the prospect of being found inside of the alien ship, because I was going to be alive. The despair of dying was nothing compared to how I felt when I found out that _Robin_ lied to the team to convince them to participate in his fucked up plan. That bastard doesn't even deserve to be part of this team."

"Is that how you really feel?" Black Canary couldn't help but feel bad for Robin. The boy actually did the right thing, but none of his team members could see that past their pent up emotions. She was beginning to think that, though talk therapy would probably help them through the trauma, it wouldn't help them understand what Robin had to go through. Truthfully, she didn't even really think that she understood. The Justice League was only somewhat close, so they were able to offer up any of their members without feeling that they had betrayed a friend, but Young Justice was a close-knit group of best friends. Each moment that any of them was in danger, the rest of the team would worry for their friend. Perhaps the Justice League shouldn't have let this young team get so close, but now it was done and they could do nothing to change the past.

"Yes," Artemis said resolutely. In her mind there was no room for arguments and Black Canary knew that she could not bring up any without overstepping her bounds. Oh yea. This was going to be a lot harder than she originally thought.

* * *

Wow! I was not expecting so many comments so quickly. Thank you guys. I really appreciate it.

I have one more chapter written of this story at the moment, but, again, I don't want to post it all at the same time. So I'm going to post the next chapter on Saturday unless I get 5 comments before then. Thank you so much for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

The next person Black Canary talked to was Superboy. "How do you feel about the training excursion?" she asked.

"It wasn't M'gann's fault," he answered immediately.

"I never said it was," Black Canary shook her head. "I only asked how you feel about it."

"I don't know," Superboy sighed.

Black Canary didn't press. She knew that Superboy, being only a few months old, wasn't old enough to quite understand emotions, let alone explain them. So instead she asked a different question.

"How did you feel when Artemis died?" she asked. "Were you angry? Were you sad?"

Superboy just shrugged. "M'gann was upset," he said.

"What about when the ship disappeared?" she asked.

"M'gann was upset," Superboy said again.

"What about when Kaldur died?"

"M'gann was upset."

"I'm not asking about how M'gann felt," Black Canary said. She knew that Superboy really only cared about M'gann, but his speaking about her wasn't really helping Black Canary figure out his mental state. The only thing she was getting was that he really loved M'gann. "I want to know how you felt."

Superboy thought for a moment before shrugging. "I guess I was angry."

"That's good," Black Canary encouraged. "Anything else?"

"I felt like I had to protect M'gann," Superboy said.

Black Canary smiled, but she already knew there was a flaw in Superboy's thinking. He only cared what M'gann was thinking and, since M'gann was a very emotional person, he wasn't bothering to form his own emotions except for love for M'gann and hatred and anger for any of their enemies. That wouldn't turn out well in the future.

"How did you feel when you died?" This was the hard question, and Black Canary could only hope that Superboy wouldn't make any reference to M'gann.

"I did the right thing," Superboy said. "I did what Superman would have done."

Black Canary smiled. At least he didn't mention M'gann. "This is the last question," she said. She was almost uncertain about asking this question, but she had to know how everyone felt about the other team members, and Robin seemed to be the only one that they were all pushing away from them. "How did you feel when Robin made you the decoy?"

"M'gann was very upset," Superboy answered.

"Alright," Black Canary said as she tried very hard not to sigh. She was going to have to work with Superboy to help him develop his emotions. He couldn't always be reliant on M'gann for emotions. He needed to have his own.

* * *

M'gann was the next one to talk to Black Canary. She had planned on seeing the girl last because she had a feeling that M'gann would be the hardest to console, but she had promised to give Kid Flash more time to clean the mountain since Batman had decided to punish him.

M'gann was already crying when she entered the room, and Black Canary looked at her sympathetically. She handed the girl a small handkerchief and waited just long enough for the girl to blow her nose before she spoke. "Would you like to talk about it?" she asked.

"I just-" M'gann tried to say. "I can't believe-"

"It's okay to be upset," Black Canary spoke when she realized that M'gann couldn't settle on one thing.

"But it's all my fault," she cried. "I shouldn't have allowed my emotions to control me."

"None of this is your fault," Black Canary placed a comforting hand on M'gann's knee. "It was the Justice League who made the mistake. You have nothing to feel guilty for."

"But I watched everyone die," M'gann moved forward and buried her head into Black Canary's chest and she only took a moment before she responded by wrapping her arms around M'gann in a comforting manner.

"They didn't die," Black Canary whispered. "They're all alive."

"I know," M'gann sniffled after she took a few moments to calm herself. "It's just that I watched them all die. Kaldur, Conner, and Wally all died right in front of me."

"What about Robin?" Black Canary knew she shouldn't have asked that question the moment that it slipped past her lips, but it was out there and now she had to listen to the response.

"I don't care about him," M'gann sat suddenly with an angered look on her face. Black Canary wouldn't deny that she was shocked by M'gann's reaction. She didn't think that M'gann would be the type of person to react that way towards another person, but apparently she was wrong. "He doesn't care about us anyway. He won't even tell us his first name. I tried to get it out of him once, but he's able to keep me out so well that I can't even read his mind. I hate him. He murdered Conner."

Black Canary bit her lip, but she wouldn't contradict M'gann like she wanted to. She knew that would just lead to M'gann not wanting to talk to her and she couldn't have that at the moment. She was going to have to postpone trying to convince the team that Robin wasn't to blame later on when she had gained there complete trust.

* * *

Black Canary was surprised when Wally came stalking into her room carrying a whole plate of food from the cupboard. He was glaring at anything and everything that his eyes landed on, but what surprised Black Canary was that he walked in very slowly and ate his food in small bites. He wasn't tired, she could tell that he had already eaten a very large amount, but he was angry enough that he didn't actually want to move fast.

"How do you feel?" Black Canary used the standard question once Kid Flash sat in the chair across from her.

"I'm pissed," Wally growled.

"Because Batman made you clean the Mountain?" Black Canary pressed for more.

"Yea," Wally threw the candy bar that he was holding onto the plate and put it forcefully on the ground as he stood to pace around the room. "That bastard knew that I was going to have to be the one to clean the whole Mountain and he told us to do it anyway."

"Do you think that he might have had a reason for it?" Black Canary asked.

"Yea," Wally stopped suddenly and glared at everything in the room once again. "He was protecting his bastard of a son. I guess it's true what they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"Why do you say that?" Black Canary asked calmly.

"Because," Wally's voice rose with every word he spoke until it was practically a yell. "He doesn't care about any of us. All's he cares about is his stupid mission. Where does that leave us?"

"Who doesn't care?" Black Canary asked.

"Robin," Wally spat the word out as if it stung him. "That little bastard doesn't care about anyone. He'll do whatever it takes to get the mission done. He'll even sacrifice his best friends."

"Do you think it's fair that you're judging him this way?" Black Canary asked.

"Of course," Wally said. "He deserves much more than what I'm saying."

"Why are you so angry at him?"

"Because he doesn't care about us," Wally growled. He was starting to calm down, but that didn't mean that his anger was gone.

"But why does that anger you so much?" Black Canary pressed.

"Because I love him!" Wally yelled out suddenly.

"Oh," Black Canary was shocked. She did not expect that. Unfortunately, that meant that this would either be a lot harder than it should have been, or it will be a lot easier. She was hoping for the latter, but, by the looks of Wally, it was going to be the former.

"And you know what the best part about this whole thing is?" he continued. "He said that he loved me too. The bastard actually said that he loved me. What a load of rubbish. He doesn't care. Nothing matters to him except for the mission." With that Wally stalked right back out of the room, not even bothering to pick up the plate of food that he left on the floor, leaving Black Canary by herself to think of what was going to have to be done to help the team. Whatever it was, it was not going to be easy.

* * *

Unfortunately guys, I don't have anymore chapters pre-written. That means that I will post as soon as I write the next chapter. Thank you for reading and I'll try to update soon


	4. Chapter 4

Black Canary sighed as she finally finished with the therapy sessions. It wasn't really meant to be therapy. It was meant to be more of a way for them to be able to talk about what they had gone through. The only thing she could do now was hope that they would be able to make it through this trauma. She knew that, if they did, they would be better for it.

When Black Canary returned to base she found Aquaman, Green Arrow, Flash, Superman, Marshan Manhunter, and Batman all waiting for her.

"How are they?" asked Flash.

"Not good," she sighed.

"Is there anything that we can do for them?" asked Marshan Manhunter.

"Unfortunately," she sighed. "I think that the only thing we can do for them would be to send them out on missions so that they can get their minds off of all of this."

"Is that a good idea?" asked Green Arrow. "They don't seem like they would be very focused if they did go out."

"If they stay there," Black Canary answered, "they will continue to only think about the simulation. We have to give them something else to think about."

"Fine," Batman said before there could be any more arguments. "We will give them a mission tomorrow."

"That's to soon," Flash said. "The haven't recovered."

"They won't recover while just sitting around doing nothing," Black Canary said.

"They will have a mission tomorrow," Batman said this final word before heading back to the zeta tubes. Black Canary sighed as everyone else looked at her expectantly.

"I think that you all should go to your apprentices," she said finally. "They'll need all the support they can get, and I think a little break from the Young Justice team will do them all good." Everyone nodded and left, but Black Canary noticed that Superman was not heading in the direction of the zeta tubes. "Superman," she called out to him.

"What?" Superman asked testily. He had a feeling that he knew where this was going, but he didn't want to say anything about it in case she wanted something else.

"You have to go to Superboy," she said.

"I will not do such a thing," Superman answered.

"He is your son," she tried.

"He is no such thing," Superman replied. "He is an experiment made from my DNA."

"Then you're afraid of him because he is a part of you," Black Canary realized suddenly. Superman said nothing because he didn't even realize that was how he was feeling until now either. "You're afraid of what you are and what you might become."

"I am not afraid," Superman replied.

"You are afraid," Black Canary pressed. She knew she was treading on dangerous ground, but somebody needed to say these things to Superman. "That's why you reject him. You're rejecting yourself. You have to accept what you are Superman. You have to."

"I accept who I am."

"No you don't," she said. "You only accept what you can do, but you have yet to attempt to accept yourself. You have yet to attempt to reconcile your emotions and find a way to deal with them."

Superman stiffened, but said nothing. He would not let his anger control him.

"Because you have made no attempt to reconcile with yourself and your emotions, Superboy has been unable to produce his own. You need to get over yourself, accept what you are, and then help Superboy because he is a part of you, but he is also a lost young child who knows nothing of earth except for what an alien who just recently came to earth has told him. He needs you Superman, and, even though you deny it, you need him as well." With that she left the room. She knew where to stop, and she wouldn't attempt to go any further and possibly get herself killed because she made the great Superman angry.

* * *

Bruce returned to his house after his talk with the Justice League to find Dick awake and sitting at the dinner table poking at the food that their butler had been kind enough to make him. He didn't look much happier, but he did look a little better after resting.

"How are you feeling?" Bruce asked.

"I'm fine," Dick muttered distractedly.

Bruce looked at Alfred to see if he could gauge anything about how Dick was feeling from him, but it didn't seem that Alfred even knew. Bruce, however, had only seen Dick act this depressed one other time in his life and that was when his parents died. Dick got over that by becoming Robin. Maybe he could do it again. "I'm going to go patrol Gotham city after I eat," he said. "Would you like to come with me?"

"I don't know," Dick answered. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me."

"No one got hurt Dick," Bruce sighed, "and no one will get hurt as long as you're there to protect them."

"Do you really believe that?" Dick asked in a tone of voice that should have been much too old for someone of his age.

"I do," Bruce nodded. "I think that you are one of the greatest heroes out there and that you will protect the world."

"Well I don't," Dick mumbled. "I can't even protect my friends. How can I protect the world if I can't even protect my friends?"

"Richard," Bruce said sternly. He only ever called Dick by his true first name when he was scolding him and that was very rare because he was usually scolding Robin instead of Dick. The name made Dick look up with wide eyes. He hadn't been expecting to be scolded. "We fail. The people we love die. It happens, but we have to get over it and move on or more people will die."

"I know," Dick said. "I just can't seem to do it."

"Come with me to patrol Gotham city," Bruce said. "It will help more than sitting at home wallowing in self pity will."

Dick hesitated only for a moment before he finally nodded. He needed to be Robin. Being Robin made him feel so alive and he needed that. But he was also afraid about becoming the Robin that he was during the simulation. That different Robin that was willing to do anything to accomplish his mission. That different Robin that sacrificed his friends to destroy the ship. He didn't want to be that different Robin, but Bruce had said that it would help him. He needed to be Robin. He needed to feel alive again.


	5. Chapter 5

"There's going to be a mission tomorrow," Batman said while he drove the batmobile through the streets of Gotham.

"How long are you going to be gone?" Robin asked. Batman never mentioned a mission to him unless it was going to be a long one because he knew that it would be wrong to leave Dick at home without letting him know why he had gone.

"It's not my mission," Batman responded. "It's Young Justice's mission."

"Oh," Robin frowned. "Why are you telling me?"

"You're part of Young Justice," Batman answered.

"I don't know Batman," Robin sighed. "I don't think I can go back there again. I really betrayed all of them and I can't even trust myself to keep them safe."

"That's not your job," Batman said. "You're job is to save the world."

"I know," Robin said, "but I can't do it like you can. I can't just sacrifice everything the same way you can. I want to be able to, but I can't."

"No," Batman said.

"What?" Robin asked.

"No," Batman said again. "You don't want to be like me. You're heart is kind and that is the best thing for a person in our situation to have. It's better to have regrets than to not feel anything at all. Besides, you are still a child and children should not be willing to give up everything that they love just to complete a mission."

Robin sighed. "It hurts so much Batman."

"I know," Batman conceded, "but you're emotions are what separate you from those who would hurt you."

"You wouldn't hurt me," Robin said.

"I already have," Batman replied.

"I don't understand," Robin frowned.

"I care about you too much Robin," Batman said. "I know that I told you that I didn't want you to show your true identity to anyone in the Young Justice because I didn't want anyone to figure out who I was, but the truth is that I don't want them to be able to use you against me. You are my son and I have been very protective of you ever since your parents died. I think that's one of the things that made it so that your friends have a hard time trusting you."

"It's not your fault," Robin said quickly. "You're just protecting me. I'm glad that I have you as my father. And I don't think I really want to tell them my identity anyway. They never would have liked me if they knew who I really was."

"I'm going to fix this Robin," Batman promised even as he was aware that he was being a lot tenderer than Batman usually was to anyone. That was just one of the perks of being Batman's son, though. "No matter what I have to do, I will help you out of this even if it means that you are taken out of Young Justice and put in the Justice League instead."

"You can do that?" Robin asked.

"There's not much they can do to stop me since you practically already are a part of it," Batman responded, "but I want you to at least try to go back to Young Justice first. You should be with people your own age."

"They're all older than me," Robin sighed.

"Not by much," Batman responded. "The Justice League is much older than you. Will you at least give it a try?"

"I will," Robin nodded, "but I don't think they'll be happy with it."

"They'll see there mistake soon enough," Batman replied. "Even if it doesn't happen very soon, they will see their mistake in time."

"Batman," Robin bit his lip. "Do you think that Wally will ever forgive me?"

Batman's fists clenched imperceptibly tighter on the wheel at the mention of the man that he knew was hurting his son the most, but had no way of pointing him out. "I don't know," he replied, "but he would be a fool not to."

"Wally always was kind of foolish," Robin smiled painfully and Batman heard his voice crack just slightly so he could tell that his son was on the verge of tears.

"It's time to go home," Batman said. "You need your rest before your mission."

"Um," Robin rung his hands together allowing Dick to come back even though he was still on the streets of Gotham in his uniform. "Do-do you mind if I sleep with you tonight?"

Batman tensed as he to let himself become Bruce. "Did you have a nightmare?" Dick nodded imperceptibly and bit his lip. "All right," he agreed, "but just for tonight." He knew full well that it wasn't just for that one night because he remembered that Dick slept in his bed for almost a month before the nightmares of his parents' deaths stopped coming, but he gave those words every time Dick came to him with that question. Dick still had nightmares a lot because of their work and he actually wound up sleeping in Bruce's bed more than was probably good for someone of his age, but he allowed it because he knew that he would never be able to deny his son the comfort of a family when he had lived so long without it.

* * *

The next morning Bruce had some business to tend to before he returned home to find Dick training in the very large gym that they owned. Bruce had installed many highflying gym pieces that were used to help people in the carnival train soon after Dick had decided to become Robin and that was where he found the boy. Dick was doing a whole bunch of gymnastics tricks that were obviously meant for show instead of for practical use, but Bruce was still surprised that he had yet to see his son perform all of them. He had never really seen Dick perform at all. Even that one time that he went to the carnival to see Dick and his family perform, he still hadn't seen anything.

"You're still really good at that," Bruce praised as he watched his son continue completely unfazed by his presence. He wasn't sure if he should be worried about this, but one look at the boy told him that Dick was deep in his head thinking. Movement always seemed to help Dick think.

"Do you think that I'll be okay?" Dick asked suddenly as he landed in a crouch on top of one of the high bars.

"I don't understand," Bruce responded.

"Do you think that it will ever stop hurting?" Dick changed the question.

"I don't think it will ever be completely gone," Bruce responded sadly. "It will heal and it will stop hurting all the time, but it will become a scar and it will never go away."

"Just like my parents?" Dick asked with his innocent eyes staring at Bruce. Sometimes he forgot how much of a child Dick really was. Sometimes he forgot how much of a child Dick really needed to be.

"Your parents' death," Bruce nodded. "Just like the death of my parents is a scar for me, the death of your parents is a scar for you, but don't think that that makes all of your memories of them scars."

"But it always hurts when I think about them," Dick sighed, "and now it hurts whenever I think about Young Justice too."

"You miss them," Bruce agreed. "That's understandable, but you've only allowed yourself to think of them in painful situations. You loved them and one day you'll be able to think of the happier times that you spent with them without feeling pain because you won't be afraid to just think about them."

"When will that happen Bruce?" Dick asked sadly.

"I can't answer that," Bruce shook his head. "You'll have to figure that out on your own."

"But I will be okay?" Dick asked.

"Yes," Bruce nodded. "It may be in a week and it may be in a year, but you will be okay in the end."

"Thank you," Dick gave a relieved smile. He didn't want to hurt anymore, but Bruce's reassurances that it would end at some point made him feel much better. He could get through this. It would take him time, but he would be able to get through this. And then, maybe, he'll be able to convince his friends to forgive him for what he did to them. Hopefully, he'll even be able to get Wally to forgive him.

* * *

I'm going to say this now just so that everyone is aware. There will not be any Batman/Robin in this fic. Batman is just seriously overprotective because he doesn't want Robin to suffer without the comforts of family the same way that he did when his parents died. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure that I got that out there now just in case I made it seem like there was something more than there really is.


	6. Chapter 6

Everyone in the Young Justice team except for Robin sat in the living room in the mountain on the day of their new mission. They were all in uniform. They had all been out with their leaders until this point so this was the first time they were really seeing each other since the therapist sessions with Black Canary. Even Superboy had been off with Superman, which had been very awkward but at least they tried, and Superboy was more than happy about it.

The zeta tubes lit up and announced the arrival of both Batman and Robin. Wally scowled at Robin as the others either glared or completely ignored him. Robin only looked at them as if they were still the people that he had always worked beside. He was Robin at the moment. He couldn't let emotions get in his way of completing the mission just like Batman had taught him.

"Come with me," Batman said as he turned to head towards the training room where they would get their new mission. He stopped right in front of the big screen and put a USB drive into the computer. "This is a recon mission. You will get all of their information without being detected." A building showed up on the screen and all of them looked at it carefully. "Be careful," Batman said one last thing, though it was mainly aimed towards Robin, before he headed out of the room.

"That's just great," Wally hissed. "Why can't we do this without _him._"

"We need him," Kaldur sighed. He was logical enough to keep the mission in mind. This recon mission would probably be mostly technology, as most of their missions were, and Robin was the best at working with technology. He would just have to make sure to keep a close eye on him.

"Come on guys," Robin laughed from inside the bio-ship. He was pretending that he hadn't heard anything, but he wasn't deaf and every moment was hurting him. This mission was going to be a lot harder than he originally thought. Even his fun Robin persona wasn't protecting him from all of the things that his so-called friends were saying about him. He knew that he deserved them, but he didn't think that he'd be able to handle much more of them.

* * *

The building that they were looking for was a very long hour away. The whole time, the ship was in complete awkward silence. Some of it was due to the fact that none of them really wanted to talk to Robin and some of it was due to the fact that this was their very first mission after the failsafe simulation. They were all worried about what would happen so when they got there they waited patiently for Aqualad to figure out what they were going to do. Even Robin, who always had a tendency to run off and do his own thing, stayed silently in the back of the group.

"_Alright guys," _Aqualad said through the mind link that Miss Martian set up for them. _"It doesn't look like we're going to be able to get in without being noticed. We'll have to create a distraction. Artemis, Superboy, Miss Martian, and I will create a ruckus on each sides of the building. Then, when the coast is clear, Kid Flash and Robin will go inside. Kid Flash will be Robin's back up while he downloads all of their information."_

"_Why do I have to do it?" _Wally muttered.

"_Because you are the fastest and can take out the most people," _Aqualad explained somewhat impatiently. _"Alright let's go." _

The four distractions took off and it wasn't long until the whole place was in an uproar and most of the guards ran towards the ruckus.

"Let's go," Kid Flash mumbled in an annoyed tone.

Robin let out one of his laughs, creeping out the only guard who still remained between them and the building, and leapt out to knock the man out. Kid Flash followed him dutifully, only sometimes darting out in front of him to stop some guard from getting close enough to hurt him, until they made it to the third and top floor of the building. They found the main computer room and Robin crouched down to connect his glove to the wall. _"I'm in!" _he said after a moment. _"Downloading data now."_

"_Good," _Aqualad responded through the link. _"Hurry. We don't know how long it will take for back up to arrive."_

"_They're already here," _Artemis growled as a loud explosion sounded outside the building. There were several more and they were getting closer and closer.

"Damn it!" Kid Flash hissed. The next moment he was gone and Robin was left to work alone. He made his way back outside and started taking out the multiple guards that were surrounding the building. The number had nearly tripled while he was inside.

"_What are you doing out here?" _Aqualad demanded when he saw a glimpse of Kid Flash taking out someone nearby him.

"_I'm helping," _Kid Flash responded.

"_You're supposed to be protecting Robin," _Aqualad said.

"_I'm fi-," _Robin tried to reassure them, but he was cut off as a loud gunshot was heard up in the room that Robin was in. It wasn't the first gunshot that went off, but that coupled with the fact that Robin had been cut off from what he was saying was not a good sign.

"_Robin!" _Aqualad said through the link even as he tried to get closer to the building unsuccessfully. _"Answer me!"_

"_I'm fine," _Robin responded, but even through the link it sounded pained. _"Don't come inside. I'm almost done. Just a few more files and I'll come out."_

"_Go and get him Kid Flash," _Aqualad demanded. This time Kid Flash didn't argue as he went to go back inside, but the entrance was blocked and even his quick feet couldn't get through.

"_I can't get in," _Kid Flash said. _"They blocked the entrance and I can't phase through."_

"_I'm done," _Robin said. _"I'm coming out." _There was a moment's pause where nothing happened except for the fighting outside of the building but then Robin spoke again. _"Get away from the building!" _As if his words set off something, explosions erupted inside. Kid Flash was barely able to get away from the door that he had been trying to open before it exploded outwards with fire spilling out after it.

There was a crash as one of the top windows exploded outwards, but this time it was followed by a boy carrying a man. Robin, knowing that the building would explode, grabbed the man that he had knocked out after the man had shot at him and jumped out the window. He had nothing to stop his fall, though, because there were no other buildings nearby that he could use any of his bat tools on. The only thing that he had was the man in his arms, but he was not going to use him as a cushion. His job was to save people, not to sacrifice them for his own well-being. Instead he landed on his back, dropped them man, and rolled a few feet away to stop on his stomach and curl into a ball of safety while gasping for the breath that had been knocked out of him.

Robin did a mental health check even as he continued to gasp for air. He was pretty sure that he had several cracked, if not broken ribs. The arm that the man landed on was definitely broken; possibly more than once. And the same shoulder was dislocated. He was also pretty sure that he probably had a concussion from the fall. But, what was most worrying of all was the gaping bullet wound without an exit wound in his stomach. He needed to stop the blood flow before he lost too much of it, but he was already falling into unconsciousness.

"Oh God!" Kid Flash gasped as he collapsed next to Robin. The only thing that he could see was so much blood. "Oh God! Let me see it Robin." Robin shook his head. "Come on," Kid Flash coaxed as he moved Robin onto his back so that he could see where most of the blood was coming from. Robin would have protested more, but he was already too weak so his hands fell to the side to reveal the wound. "Oh God!" Kid Flash gasped again. He leaned forward and put all the pressure that he could manage onto Robin. "Aqualad!"

Aqualad was already there, examining that wounds that Robin had sustained. "He needs emergency medical treatment," Aqualad said. "We have to get him to a hospital."

"No…" Robin said weakly. "Not…hospital…Mountain…"

"I don't think the bioship will get us there in time," Aqualad tried to reason even as he tied some gauze that Artemis handed to him around the wound.

"Not…hospital…Mountain," Robin said again.

"Can I make?" Kid Flash asked.

"I don't know," Aqualad frowned. "The trip might be more damaging by foot anyway."

"Mountain," Robin said once more before his eyes slipped closed.

"Oh God!" Kid Flash repeated. "Come on Robin. Don't do this to us. Don't fall asleep!"

"Fine," Aqualad conceded. They didn't have any more time. He had to make a decision. "Just be careful."

Kid Flash nodded as he carefully wrapped the young boy in his arms and took off. "You're going to be okay," Kid Flash muttered to the unconscious boy. "You're going to be okay."


	7. Chapter 7

Wally was pacing outside the medical room while the others sat in the living room staring at him and the door just hoping that it would open to give them good news when Batman came into the room. He was starting to sweat and his pace was slowing, but he didn't want to leave the outside of the room for something as trivial, or as important in his case, as food.

"What the hell happened?" Batman yelled once he was fully out of the zeta tubes. He had been on a mission when he found out about Robin. He had a system installed into Robin's glove to monitor his health, which he placed in when Robin collapsed during a mission because he was sick and hadn't told Batman, and it had always warned him about small injuries or illnesses that Robin got, but never once had it set off an alarm like the one that went off while he searched the streets for his target. At first he wasn't sure what it was, but then he looked at his own glove's screen to see that it was blinking the words critical condition while showing a model of a body with all the injuries that Robin sustained on it. He had immediately turned around and headed straight for the mountain.

Everyone in the room winced. None of them, not even those in the Justice League who had come to console the children, had ever heard Batman raise his voice let alone yell at the top of his lungs. They couldn't really blame him, though. Robin was, after all, his son.

"Batman," Black Canary said as she stood and walked over to him to try to calm him, but there was really nothing she could say. "He's in critical condition right now."

"You think I don't know that," Batman growled as he thrust the screen into her face. She frowned at it before looking back at Batman. There really was nothing more that she could say. He already knew everything that there was to know about Robin's condition. The only thing that he didn't know was how it all happened and she didn't thing that any of the Young Justice team were going to be able to talk any time soon. "Just show me to him," Batman finally hissed.

Black Canary nodded and led him over to the door that Wally was pacing in front of. Wally looked up hopefully, but she shook her head. Robin needed Batman right now. And only Batman. She opened the door and Batman walked past her and shut the door before she could even attempt to follow him inside the room.

Robin was not looking good. There were scrapes and bruised forming all over his body. His arm was in a cast and there were bandages wrapped around his head. It was pure luck that Robin's legs hadn't been broken. Robin would have been really upset if that had been the case. One thing that bothered Batman, once he had catalogued all of the injuries and felt anger for each one in turn, was that Robin's whole uniform had been removed. It looked like it was completely necessary, but this made him much more vulnerable than anyone would ever understand.

"I'm going to take you home," Batman leaned over Robin and kissed his forehead. "I'm sorry." With that he stood and started readying the boy for a move. Luckily, the only things that were still attached to him were the heart monitor, which Batman could just re-apply once he got to the Batcave, and the IV that was feeding Robin much needed blood and medicine, which was completely translatable.

When he was finally ready to move and had called Alfred to ready the Batcave to receive them, Batman opened the door once more and started wheeling Robin to the zeta tubes.

"What are you doing?" Wally yelled as Batman passed him.

"I'm taking him to the Batcave," Batman growled back at him. "You guys have clearly shown your inability to take care of him so I'm taking him somewhere that I know someone will be there for him."

"At least let us see him before you take him," Wally demanded, but Black Canary grabbed his arm and shook her head solemnly. Robin didn't need them.

"I'll be dealing with you all when I return," Batman completely ignored Wally and continued until he disappeared from sight.

"Oh god," Wally sighed as he sagged to the ground. Of what he saw of Robin as the bed passed him, it look both worst and better than when he had carried him to the mountain. It was better because the worst of the wounds had been bandaged up expertly, but it was worse because wounds he hadn't even seen before were much more noticeable.

Black Canary gave him a pitying look, but she decided that she and the others should leave the Young Justice team to their own devices. They needed to work this out themselves and the only way for them to do that is for them to be alone. So she and the rest of the Justice League left through the zeta tubes.

"I can't believe this is happening," Wally cried. He had been so stupid. He never should have left Robin's side. He never should have let anything get between him and Robin. He had claimed to love Robin and then, at the first test, he had immediately failed the boy. He was an utter idiot.

"Maybe you should eat something," M'gann said worriedly.

"You're really thinking about food right now?" Wally hissed, but then he laughed at the irony of the comment. God, he was such an idiot.

"Get a hold of yourself," Artemis growled as she pulled him back up to his feet. Wally took the warmth of the body in front of him as a comfort even though it wasn't supposed to be and he leaned his head on Artemis's shoulder.

"I'm such an idiot," he continued to laugh at himself because it was true. He was an idiot and he probably ruined everything between him and Robin.

* * *

It took almost an hour for Wally to calm down enough to eat some of M'gann's cookies. She had been getting better ever since Robin had shown her the correct way to cook them. This fact was not lost on her as she cooked them.

Then it was another excruciating hour of waiting in the living room for someone to come and get them to tell them what to do with themselves. Unfortunately, that someone was Batman.

"What happened," Batman demanded once again.

"It was a mistake," Kaldur defended his team. "We didn't realize there were still guards inside and we were completely unaware of the bombs."

"Why weren't any of you there to protect him?" Batman pointed out.

"I was supposed to be," Wally admitted knowing full well that he would be incurring all of Batman's wrath upon himself. Right now he thought that was the least he deserved. "I left him because there were more guards on the outside to fight."

"So you just completely disregarded his life in order to have fun of your own?" Batman growled menacingly.

"He did the same thing to us," Artemis said. She felt bad about what happened during their mission, but that still didn't mean that she would forget what he had done during their simulation.

"First of all," Batman growled, "you weren't even there when Robin took over so you have absolutely no right to talk. And, second of all, I reviewed Martian Man-Hunter's memory of the simulation and Robin wasn't the one who said that everyone was alive despite the obvious evidence against that. It was Kid Flash who made that assumption and Robin tried to tell him that it might not be the case, but he would not be swayed." Suddenly, Wally felt like a complete asshole. Batman was right. Everything that he had been blaming Robin for was really his fault. Oh god he was stupid. "The only reason that he went along with it in the end is because he knew that it was the only way for you guys to go along with his plan even though it would probably cost you your lives. He knows that our job is to do anything it takes to finish the mission because that is how I taught him and you need to learn that too. In case you hadn't noticed, Robin sacrificed himself just as much as he sacrificed you guys by going inside that ship." Now everyone felt awful, but Batman wasn't done. There was still one more thing that they needed to be made aware of. One more thing that they needed to realize before they go and judge his son. "Robin's only thirteen and he has many more pains than any of you have ever had to endure so I suggest that you think about that before you go blaming him for something that he had no control over because he is way more vulnerable than any of you can ever imagine." Batman felt bad about letting this little fact slip, but these people needed to know that Robin wasn't just some kid who loved fighting crime. They needed to know that Robin had emotions too, but he knew how to hide them because he had been fighting the pain for much longer than they had. They needed to know and now they did so he allowed himself to leave the same way he came in an angry huff.

The Young Justice team stared wide-eyed at the zeta tube even after Batman had left the room. The man was right. How could they all forget the fact that Robin was younger than him? They put the responsibilities that he should never have had to bear into his hands and then they yelled at him when he was completely successful, but in a way that wasn't to their liking. He was already compromising himself for them by working with a team in the first place, but they didn't like that he used that team to get him into the safety of the ship even though he still died in the end. What struck them the most, though, was that they had never considered Robin's emotions. Even they knew that the boy did have more than he usually let on because he would occasionally slip when he was in his everyday clothes, but they had completely neglected that fact and chose to remember only how emotionless Batman was and contribute it to his sidekick as well.

They were horrible team members, but, more importantly, they were horrible friends.

* * *

I know that Batman was completely OOC in this chapter, but someone really needed to talk some sense into Young Justice so there it was.

I hope you liked it.


	8. Chapter 8

It was several weeks before Dick woke up from his sleep. For a moment he thought that all of that was just a dream. He was in his own bed and he was comfortably warm, but then he heard the annoying sound of a heart monitor and everything was solidified as real. He was badly injured and now he had to go through all the work of rehabilitating himself. That wasn't what really bothered him, though. What really made him want to cry was the fact that Wally had abandoned him in the building. Wally had left him alone without any care to his safety. A tear slipped down his face and he couldn't stop several others from following.

"Young Master," Alfred said calmly from the door, but he only stayed there long enough for Dick to look up at him and show his tears before he was on the bed and enveloping him in a careful embrace. Alfred was just a butler and he wasn't as much like a father to Dick as Bruce was, but he had been the one to take care of Bruce when he was a child so he did know how to treat them even if Dick was a lot more emotional than Bruce ever chose to be.

"I don't want to go back," Dick cried into Alfred's chest. "Don't make me go back."

"To what?" Alfred asked as he rubbed comforting circles on Dick's skin.

"To the mountain," Dick's muffled voice came through.

"Ah," Alfred agreed. "Bruce will be here soon and you can talk to him about it. I'm sure he'll think of something for you."

Dick nodded, but his tears didn't stop.

"What is really bothering you little one?" Alfred asked. He was really the only other one that Dick would willingly open up to, but only when he was in a state of complete emotional turmoil like he was now. Usually it only happened after a nightmare when Batman was off on his mission and that was very rare, but now it was happening for a completely different reason and no one in the Wayne household was happy about it.

"They left me," Dick said quietly, though he really meant that Wally left him. It was part of the mission. They had to do whatever it took to finish the mission. He kept telling himself that Wally was just trying to help finish the mission, but that was always followed by the sound of a gun and a sharp pain in his stomach. Wally had compromised the mission when he left Robin's side. There was a possibility that they might not have been able to get it done the moment that Robin was injured. The only reason he was able to get it done was because he had already finished all of the hacking and was just waiting for the files to download onto Batman's system.

"Alfred?" that was Bruce's voice at the door and Alfred nodded before getting up.

"I'll go and get you some nice hot chocolate," this was always how it worked. Alfred would comfort Dick until Bruce got home and then he would go make some hot chocolate in the hopes that it would help Dick fall asleep while Bruce truly comforted him. After all, Bruce was the one that Dick really thought of as his father.

Bruce took Alfred's spot, enveloping Dick in a careful hug just like Alfred had. Dick clung to him as if his life depended on it.

"I don't want to go back," Dick said into Bruce's chest.

"I won't make you," Bruce ran his hand through Dick's hair in order to calm him. "Do you still want to be Robin?"

"Of course!" Dick responded, immediately looking into Bruce's eyes to show how sincere he was about this. He loved being Robin. Even when it was hard on his true self, he loved fighting off evil and defeating bad guys. He just didn't think he'd be able to do it in the presence of the Young Justice team anymore.

"Very well," Bruce gave a sad smile. He was well aware of how much being Robin affected Dick on both ends of the spectrum and it conflicted his mind on whether or not he should allow this to continue, but he knew that if he didn't, Robin would continue alone and he couldn't allow that to happen. Especially now when Dick was in such a horrible state. "From now on you'll be accompanying me on my missions. Whether they be from the Justice League or otherwise."

"Really?" Dick's smile was sincere, but Bruce could still sill the very prominent underlying emotional pain behind it.

"Yes," Bruce replied. Yes, he would do anything to protect his son and he wouldn't let anyone get in his way. Not even the Justice League. Not that they really would Robin already knew more about the Justice League than the Justice League did and he had already been to the satellite when he was much younger. Batman had allowed him to come along as his sidekick and no one had stopped him at the time. The only reason he wasn't allowed up there anymore was because they didn't want the other members of Young Justice to say it was unfair because they weren't allowed up there. Now Bruce couldn't really care about them. Robin would be coming with him whether they liked it or not.

* * *

The Young Justice team had not gone on any missions while Robin slept. The Justice League was afraid that they would be to sidetracked by worrying about Robin's health and would probably get hurt themselves. They were right; of course, the team spent most of their time sitting in the living room watching the zeta tubes or training distractedly in the training room waiting for those zeta tubes to light up as well.

Whenever one of the Justice League walked into the mansion, everyone in the team would stop and someone, usually Wally, would ask after Robin's health. The person would always shake their head sadly and pained faces would cross all of the team. So when Black Canary got the news that Robin had woken up, she was happy to walk through the zeta tube and receive the normal question.

"Robin is awake," she said. "He's going to be fine."

"When can we see him?" Wally asked eagerly.

"I don't know," Black Canary had also been given the news that Robin would be entering the Justice League from now on. She was almost certain that most of the Justice League wanted to protest since they were trying to pick their team members together, but all of them were aware of Robin's circumstances and none of them thought it would be right to deny him a team that might actually be able to respect him and his abilities. After all, he was an even better hacker than Batman because he had learned his hacking skills by hacking into Batman's super technology. "He's joining the Justice League." She might as well get it over with now.

Wally's face fell immediately. "He's not coming back?" he asked.

"I don't know," Black Canary said again. "That's really up to him."


	9. Chapter 9

Soon after he woke up, Dick knew that he had to go to school. He wanted to stay home in order to recover from his fall and his emotional break down, but he knew that he'd have to leave soon. He still had to go to school and people would start getting suspicious if he didn't show up. So Dick waited long enough that all of his superficial wounds were healed so that no one, meaning Artemis, would recognize his wounds as the one that Robin got. There was nothing he could to hide his broken arm, but the other more severe wounds could easily be hidden under his school shirt.

So Dick got up on a Monday and readied himself for school. Bruce had promised to allow him to stay home at least for one more weak, but they both knew that that was a really bad idea. He was already falling behind on his studies from missing so much. He couldn't afford to miss anymore.

"Are you ready young master?" Alfred asked as he knocked on the door.

"Yea," Dick replied. He opened the door with a wince as he pulled his stomach in just the wrong way. He was going to have to be super careful during school. He still had cracked ribs and a healing gunshot wound so every move gave him some small amount of pain. He couldn't let that show to anyone at school.

"Very well," Alfred nodded. "Master Bruce is waiting for you downstairs. He will be taking you to school today."

"Really?" Dick grinned. Usually Bruce was unable to take him to school because he was off working on the mission. It didn't really bother Dick since he knew that they would see each other later in the day, but every now and again he wished that Bruce would have time to at least drive him to school. That's not to say that he never drove him to school, the occasions where that happened were just few and far between.

"He has also ensured me that he will do his best to pick you up from school as well." Those occasions actually happened more often then the drop offs because Bruce would often pick him up so that they could immediately go on a mission. But it almost never happened if there wasn't a mission to go to.

Dick couldn't help but smile. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

Dick stepped out of the car once it was parked and went to the trunk with Bruce in tow.

"I have to tell them why you've been absent for these past few weeks," Bruce said as he slung his messenger bag over his good shoulder despite the creaking pain of his ribs.

"Okay," Dick nodded. Suddenly he noticed Barbara staring at them and he raised his hand to wave at her. She waved back, but gave him a suspicious look.

"Why don't you go talk to her," Bruce said as he noticed the interaction too. She was probably the only person that actually understood Dick and he needed someone close to his age for that. "I'll go talk to your principal about your absences."

"Okay," Dick said again before he walked over to the girl. Before either of them could say anything, she took his bag and slung it over her own shoulder.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I fell down the stairs," they both knew that it was a lie, but they couldn't divulge the real truth until they were safely outside of people's hearing range.

"How bad is it?" she asked.

"I broke my arm and a few cracked ribs," Dick used his one good arm to shrug it off, but Barbara could see the pain hidden beneath.

"You're going to have to tell me what happened later," she mumbled under her breath so that no one but Dick could hear.

"I will," Dick nodded. "I promise."

"Dick," Bruce called out to him from the car. Both he and Barbara made their way over to the man. "Your principal understands the situation. He has given you a pass on the days that you missed and these are two tardy passes. One is for you and the other is for whoever helps you get to your classes so that both of you will be excused for being late."

"Thanks," Dick took the passes and slipped them both into his bag, which still hung off of Barbara's shoulder. Barbara immediately went back in and claimed one of the passes to put in her own bag.

"I will see you after school," Bruce gave them both a worried smile, not one of his billionaire ones but a true smile, before getting back in his car to speed off.

"You don't have to help me you know," Dick said. "I can carry all my stuff on my own so you don't have to be late for class."

"Who says I didn't want to be late for class?" Her GPA says that she didn't want to be late for class. She was one of the top students in the whole school and enjoyed learning new stuff just like Dick did, but she wouldn't abandon the boy to make his way alone while he was in such pain. Even she could see that there was much more to it than the physical pain that he was feeling.

* * *

School actually wasn't that bad. Dick found himself actually enjoying the return to a normal life. He would be much happier once he was able to return to his normal life, but a normal life would do for now. Besides, even he knew that he needed to take a break from being Robin in order to get over these feelings. Being Robin had helped him get over his parents' death because he had been able to catch the killer, but now he knew that he needed to be Dick in order to get over Robin's betrayal.

Many of the kids at the school liked Dick and they talked to him all the time, but none of them would ever dare try to get close enough to him to become best friends like the Young Justice League had and Dick preferred it that way. If none of them ever got close enough to know him, he wouldn't have such a hard time lying to them all the time. But now there was another reason he didn't want them to get too close. He had already felt the sting of betrayal, even though he thought it was his fault in the first place, and he didn't want to have to feel that ever again.

That's why the end of the day was actually the worst part for him. He ran into Artemis. Literally. Dick hissed in pain as he tumbled backwards only for Barbara to catch him.

"Are you okay?" Artemis asked in concern.

"I'm fine," Dick mumbled as he looked away from the girl. He knew that if he looked at the girl he would give away much more than he was willing.

"What happened?" Artemis asked.

"He fell down the stairs," Barbara answered angrily. She saw Dick's reaction and she knew that this girl was in the Young Justice team with Robin. That was all that she needed to know in order to piece together some of the pieces. Enough pieces at least that she could be angry with the girl.

"Oh," Artemis mumbled. She could feel the hostility coming off the girl, but she didn't know what it was about. "I hope you feel better," she said before walking away. For some reason she felt bad for the kid. He looked like he was in a lot of pain.

Dick bit his lip to keep the tears from falling from his eyes as Barbara wrapped her arm around him and guided him to the car where Bruce was standing glaring at the retreating back of someone that used to be Robin's friend.


End file.
